Police clear City Hall of Occupy Austin campers

AUSTIN (AP) — Occupy Austin’s nearly four-month-long campout in front of City Hall has been ended with police clearing out the demonstrators.

At least seven people were arrested and protesters were ousted Friday night, a day after a new city policy took effect banning people from the building area during overnight hours. The new policy prohibited sleeping, camping and storing sleeping equipment on the plaza, mezzanine and amphitheater at City Hall.

Some three dozen people had been camping there since early October, sleeping in sleeping bags, erecting signs and even setting up a makeshift library.

Assistant City Manager Michael McDonald told the Austin American Statesman (http://bit.ly/AiUzmI ) that overtime costs for police and for maintenance to keep the site clean were costing taxpayers as much as $115,000 every two weeks. He estimated the total costs at $800,000.

“It’s just not something we can sustain,” McDonald said.

Protesters said Saturday they would challenge their removal. People who needed a place to spend the night were taken to a temporary shelter.

“I think it was very underhanded and that they didn’t give them time to make a plan, didn’t give anyone time to discuss, they just showed up with all the full force of the police department,” Debbie Russell said. “I can’t believe my city is doing this right now. I’m very disappointed in our city.”

Russell, among those arrested for criminal trespass, said the charges would be fought “tooth and nail.”

City officials long have said they didn’t plan to evict the protesters, but McDonald said that decision came under review after costs kept mounting and it appeared homeless people had been moving in with the demonstrators.

“We think the way that we have worked with the Occupiers has been a model,” McDonald said. “We don’t think any city has been as flexible as we have been. What we have noticed throughout this movement is that the movement changed. We continue to respect free speech.”

Protesters contended heavy police patrols weren’t necessary. But city officials said 118 people were arrested between October and mid-January, most for criminal trespass or for outstanding warrants. There also were arrests for suspicion of public intoxication, fighting, exposing themselves and other offenses.